Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 41, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 9, 2010 Page: 3 of 32
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Jewish Herald-Voice
December 9, 2010
‘You are the Zionist
of the 21st century’
By GIL YAARI
A couple of weeks ago, two
young Israeli university students
landed in Texas: Tzvika Deutsch, 32,
currently working on his Ph.D. at
the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot
(my hometown) and Gal Genosar, 26,
a student in Sapir College, next to
Sderot, as a film student. They were
both sent here by the World Zionist
Organization-Hagshama Department
to share their personal experiences of
being part of the Ayalim Association,
Israel’s Halutzim (pioneers) of the
21st century
My first encounter with them was
in a corridor of The Emery/Weiner
School in Houston. We were on our
way to Mrs. Oren’s Hebrew class.
They were late a few minutes (after
all, they are Israelis, and there is a
“rep” to protect), and swept the young
audience (10th- to 12th-graders) in
minutes with their enthusiasm and
Israeli charm.
Deutsch began: “We are here today
to open a window for a different
Israel than they are usually used to.
... We don’t want to talk about war nor
conflict but, rather, share our stories,
a story about young students helping
and supporting the underprivileged
communities at the periphery of
Israel.”
He then continued by telling the
students how he joined the Ayalim
Association.
“[In] 2002, I was a student in the
Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba.
I knew this young, pretty, student girl,
who approached me one day and told
me that she is heading south to be a
part of a group of students supporting
a small community in the northern
Negev. All I had in my head was the
picture of me and her, in a tent, a
thousand stars above our heads.... So,
I joined. ... Days later, I found myself
sweating, carrying poles and bricks,
building the first student village of
Ayalim called Adiel,” Deutsch said.
At the second part of the
conversation, Genosar shared his
story.
“I got to Ayalim for a far less
selfish reason as Tzvika. ... As I was
doing my service in the army as a
soldier, and later as an officer, I got
to see all parts of the country: from
the Golan Heights at the far north,
to the arid areas of the Negev down
south. During the time that I spent
in the Negev, I learned to love the
desert land. When you are there you
feel that there is so much more that
one can do to develop; there you
have the feeling you can make a real
difference!” Genosar said.
“So, choosing the college in Sapir
was a natural choice for me. Sapir,
next to Sderot, is an area that, as you
all know, was bashed by over 8,000
Kassam rockets coming from Gaza.
A year ago, I started working with a
13-year-old, who was suffering from
post-traumatic stress due to the years
living under severe stress. Despite all
my attempts to get close to him in the
first six months, nothing I did was
able to go through his shell.
“After six months, I decided to
give him a video camera - the same
tool I use to express my thoughts and
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Arts and Entertainment.......18
Classified Shopper..........27
Coming Home............32
Community .............12
Community Calendar.........23
Editorial................10
Federation...............8
Food and Dining...........20
Health.................22
In Other Words............11
Israel..................6
Obituaries...............28
Schools................26
Shabbat Shalom............9
Simchas...............24
Singles................23
Sports................31
Synagogues..............9
Teen..................32
Up Close................2
Upcoming..............14
World..................7
Tzvika Deutsh talks to Emery High School students about his work with Israel’s
Ayalim Association.
feelings as a film maker Interesting
enough, through the films, he started
to open up. Doing short clips of
himself and his friends, I was finally
able to make progress, get close to
him and start bringing change to his
life. Seeing the success, I recruited
more students from my department,
got the funds and support of the
association, and now we are able to
work with more teens in Sderot.
“For me, this is what Ayalim is all
about - a great group of young adults,
filled with energy and spirit, who
believe in themselves and the ability
to bring change now, wherever it is
needed!” Genosar said.
After a few seconds of quiet in the
room, Ronit, a student in the class,
raised her hand and said, “So, you are
the Zionists of the Zionists today. ...”
The smile on Deutsch’s face said
it all.
To support the efforts of the
Ayalim Association and to involve
Houston teens in efforts to make
a difference in the lives of Israelis,
check out Young Judaea Year Course
and Summer Programs. Participants
will meet Ayalim Association
students, volunteer and do much
more. For information, email gyaari@
youngjudaea.org.
Gil Yaari is the Young Judaea
Southwest Region shaliach. □
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 41, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 9, 2010, newspaper, December 9, 2010; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth544395/m1/3/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .